Examine how spatial variations in food consumption can impact upon life expectancy.

Examine the reasons why food insecurity remains high in many places.

Marks should be allocated according to the Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials.

Life expectancy shows considerable variation in different regions of the world. There is a close relationship between life expectancy and spatial variations in food consumption. Life expectancy tends to be lower in poorer regions with low food security and higher in richer, more developed areas. The relationship between life expectancy and food consumption will vary with time and scale.

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1):

• Life expectancy varies spatially, between different regions and places.
• There is a relationship between life expectancy and patterns of food consumption.
• Food consumption refers to the quantity and nutritional quality of food, and is linked to food security.
• Significant inequality exists between life expectancy and food consumption in different places/regions.
• There is a close relationship between life expectancy, food consumption and income levels.
• Increases in food consumption may lead to a reduction in life expectancy due to the increased incidence of obesity and heart disease.

Good answers may be well structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) of the statement. They could examine the statement at different scales – e.g. food consumption in different continents or in different parts of a city (places) linked to incomes. Another approach might be to look at interactions between food and health in contrasting ways – e.g. increased food supply can both increase and decrease life expectancy.

For 5–6 marks, expect some weakly evidenced outlining of the relationship between life expectancy and food consumption.

For 7–8 marks, expect a structured account that includes:

• either an evidenced explanation of the spatial variations in the relationship between life expectancy and food consumption
• or a discursive conclusion (or ongoing evaluation) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits.

Marks should be allocated according to the Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials.

Food security considers the core issues of availability, affordability, quality and safety; that people should have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs. The lack of food security affects people on a variety of spatial scales, from village to nation, in many areas of the world. Food insecurity may be caused by many inter-related physical, economic, social and political factors. It is often associated with poverty, poor economic development and political instability. Attempts to tackle food insecurity have met with only limited success, and it remains high in many places.

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1):

• Food security considers the core issues of availability, quality and safety of food.
• Low food security affects people in many areas of the world, from local to national scales.
• Low food security is often related to poverty; many people are trapped in a cycle of poverty, with poor diets, low productivity and short life expectancy.
• Other factors, such as adverse physical environment, lack of economic development, agricultural practises, crop disease, poor communications and political unrest, also contribute to low food security.
• Stakeholders involved in attempts to tackle food insecurity include international organisations (e.g. WHO/FAO), national governments and NGOs, and local communities – often with only limited success.
• The priorities and power of different stakeholders is also important.
• Strategies to reduce food insecurity include improving agricultural production, improving infrastructure and storage, trade agreements to facilitate trade in food crops, international aid, overcoming political instability, food waste reduction.
• Food insecurity remains high; it is a difficult problem to resolve and many attempts to reduce the problem have had only limited success.

Good answers may be well structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) of the statement. They could examine the statement on a variety of scales – e.g. food insecurity in different countries, regions, or in different areas of a city (places) – linked to various geographic factors, together with attempts to reduce insecurity. Another approach might be to look at changes in food insecurity over different time scales, possibly linked to global climatic changes, or the power of different stakeholders.

For 5–6 marks, expect some weakly evidenced of outlining of causes of food insecurity.

For 7–8 marks, expect a structured account that includes:

• either an evidenced examination of the reasons for high food insecurity in many places
• or a discursive conclusion (or ongoing evaluation) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits.

This was rarely attempted and when it was, responses tended to simply compare high-income and low-income countries with little reference to spatial variations.

There were some top-quality answers in which many correctly started with a definition of food security and were able to use that to structure the answer. Weaker answers were simply a description of the reasons for famine in one country and made links between famine, war, and droughts, but with little on wider social and economic issues. A large number described food insecurity but failed to examine why it 'remains high' and recognition of different scales (local, regional and national) was often lacking.